How To Make a Statement Necklace

I’m quite enamored with just about everything craft related, but I get especially excited when I get to create a piece of jewelry or another type of accessory. I was so happy when Nicole was open to the idea of me sharing a jewelry-based DIY with you all, and I hope you enjoy it. And while the idea of making your own jewelry may sound a bit intimidating, I assure that if you’re even somewhat remotely ‘crafty’, you can create something for yourself with just a few basic items you can find at just about any craft store.

To get started with this particular statement necklace, take a trip to your local Michael’s (or other craft store), which is where I picked up everything you see below, including the beads, and pick up the following items:

Jade colored beads in multiple sizes (I used 3 different sizes), mono-filament jewelry wire (it looks just like fishing line), a package of jewelry chain, an all purpose pack of ‘jewelry findings’, which includes jump rings, crimping beads, lobster claw closures, and pin wires. You can buy all of these items in separate packages but if you’re a beginner or aren’t doing a lot of jewelry making, this all purpose pack is great. You also want to have a pair of scissors on hand, as well as a pair of needle nose pliers and wire cutters, which they sell on the cheap at a craft store, or you could always use a pair from your tool chest. Total supplies, if you include buying the tools, should run you less than $30. *Note that over the weekend I made this necklace again for a friend and this time I used a jewelry wire called Soft Flex in ultra fine. It was actually great to work with and because this necklace gets a little heavy, it is really sturdy and should hold up better over time. It is quite a bit more than mono-filament, but may be worth it in the end.

Begin by cutting a length of your jewelry wire (roughly 18 inches), and string 1 of the crimp beads and a jump ring through the tail end of one side. Loop the wire over the jump ring and through the crimp bead again, creating a loop that is held together by the crimp bead. Gently but firmly squeeze the crimp bead shut with your needle nose pliers. There’s an actual bead crimper that they sell, but I’ve never had a problem closing my crimp beads shut with my pliers. You’re now ready to begin stringing your beads. Once you’ve completed one strand, close it off using the same method that you began with, using a crimp bead and jump ring. Your other 2 strand will now attach to this single jump ring. Trim the extra jewelry wire. Note that each strand will be approximately 14-15 inches long when finished. You don’t want all 3 strands to be exactly the same length so that they lay better on your neck.

Since I’m not an actual jewelry designer and do this for fun, I always try to keep my designs relatively simple. I always love the look of mixed metals and gems, but I leave the real pattern mixing to the professionals, and stick to similar materials and tonal, or complementary, colors when creating something new. With this necklace, the only variations I made was to use a slightly different pattern with all three strands. One strand uses just the 2 smaller sized beads and has tiny gold seed beads spaced between each one. The other 2 strands contains a mixture of all 3 sizes, but in a slightly varying pattern.

Once the body of your necklace is finished, it’s time to attach your chain. I think adding the chain creates a more finished look, and it also makes the necklace adjustable. Snip off 2 pieces of chain with your wire cutters. My chain is approximately 2.5″ long on each side. Attach each piece of chain to the jump ring on either side. A tip when opening and closing your jump rings; if you have 2 sets of small pliers on hand, gently pry each end apart, as shown, and then squeeze shut. This helps to maintain the shape of the ring, but it’s not necessary. Grab 2 more jump rings and attach it to the end of one chain, and attach it to the lobster claw and chain on the other end. Now you have your closure. If you’d like to really lend a finished look to your necklace, you could grab a sapre bead and attach it to one of the pin heads and then run it through a loop of chain and twist it shut, nipping off the end with your wire cutters, but this is not necessary.

You’ve now finished your necklace and are ready to try it on! Total time to complete this necklace is 45 minutes or less, depending on your comfort level with working with the tools and beads.

I tried the necklace on with a white tee, a chambray shirt, and this red dress, and it looked great with all three options, but I really love the way it pops against the red. Jewelry making is one of the most rewarding hobbies I have, and I hope this inspires you to give it a try. Please let me know if you have any questions.

sara h.

June 14, 2012 at 3:26 pm

Thank you SO MUCH for this tutorial, I was so inspired, I made three necklaces, including the one you showcased here. While I don’t think I’ll be opening up an etsy shop anytime soon, thanks for showing me how easy it is. Now I don’t have to covet those JCrew pieces quite so much :)!

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blair

June 19, 2012 at 10:14 am

Hello Andrea, this is a lovely necklace tutorial and i love the finished product . i made one now . i am really fond of craft and i loved ur blog i too have an idea of making a ring would u like to try ?

[…] that, my next project is going to be this amazing necklace I got the idea for months ago from Making it Lovely. Its actually been on my mind for a while now and when I was at the store last week looking for […]

[…] wire guards work brilliantly and take the place of a standard jump ring (which I used in making this statement necklace). The wire guards are not always easily found though, so feel free to use jump rings instead, but […]

[…] Also, I am obsessed with this, because its more of a stacked look than the necklace pictured above, and even better, if you were inspired by my last beading post and attempt at making jewelry, you’ll love this necklace, which was made by “Making it Lovely” and you can find her blog and the instructions for making this necklace here! […]

Dawn

November 4, 2012 at 8:15 pm

This looks gorgeous. You make it look easy, but I’m not so sure… going to give it a try! I appreciate you giving a cost estimate – I was wondering how much it would be to supply gather… $30 is worth the shot. :)

Elisabeth

November 12, 2012 at 4:57 pm

is this jade statement necklace for sale? I would really like to order one for purchase. I’ve been looking for something like this jade green statement necklace for a few weeks now and I can’t find anything, until I came across this tutorial. Only I want to purchase it.
thanks,
elisabeth

[…] watching television, using this tutorial (pictured with green sweater and orange dress, above) and this one (pictured with tan cardigan, above). A group of ladies and I also got together during a […]

[…] of being a mom. Making It Lovely is essentially a design blog, so I was crazy nervous to put my first jewelry tutorial up on the site. But wouldn’t you know, it was by far the most well received project […]

[…] Howe was a fantastic addition, bringing us posts like this neon table setting and tutorials like how to make a statement necklace (which has been pinned over 27,000 times to date!). I love Andrea and was grateful to have such a […]

Donna

January 16, 2013 at 3:07 pm

I love making necklaces. I am a novice, so I do not know much about jewelry making. But, the only problem I keep having is that the necklaces keep breaking after a couple of times wearing it. How do you know if certain string or clamps are not strong enough for certain designs? Do you experience similar problems? What kinds of wires and or clamps do you use?

[…] beads of different sizes and strands of varied lengths), and a jade multi-strand necklace similar to this one (or someone to make me one :-)). __________________ People rise to the standard expected of […]

JustJoannie

April 15, 2013 at 4:11 pm

I love this! I was wondering if there was anyway to incorporate fancy-colored diamonds into this kind of necklace. I love the idea of a statement necklace, but would really like to keep the diamond aspect. They remind me a lot of my grandmother and the jewelry she would make me as a child.

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[…] in order to post a tutorial. But in case you want to make a statement necklace, you can see this tutorial, the steps are the same. The only difference is that my necklace is bolder and more eccentric than […]